Good Read On BUG's

[goose]

QuietCricket (patent pending).

1) This thread, while digressing, has been amazing.
2) Quiet Crickets are as rare as unicorns. If they can make it work, they'll make a mint!

[maverick2076]

I don't carry a BUG. I carry a spare mag for my pistol, which will solve about 95% of weapons malfunctions. With practice, changing a mag does not take any longer than drawing a BUG from a pocket or ankle holster. If I'm in a situation where I even think needing to reload my G19 is remotely likely, my pistol is my BUG for a rifle, which is at least in the same room as I am or my truck.

[Skiprr]

I don't carry a BUG. I carry a spare mag for my pistol, which will solve about 95% of weapons malfunctions. With practice, changing a mag does not take any longer than drawing a BUG from a pocket or ankle holster. If I'm in a situation where I even think needing to reload my G19 is remotely likely, my pistol is my BUG for a rifle, which is at least in the same room as I am or my truck.

I could launch into an essay here--and have in the past--but I'll just say that weapon malfunction and additional ammo are things I hear almost every time discussion of the pros and cons of a BUG come up...and neither of them ever factored in a significant way into my decision to carry a BUG. As maverick2076 noted, most (but not all) stoppages can be cleared quickly and easily, and I always carry two spare mags for my EDC (and not all about round count: if I do get a stoppage and am able to get behind cover, I'm not trusting that magazine again; I'm swapping in a new one).

To clarify, I'm talking BUG as in EDC handgun and a secondary handgun. Discounting controlled range or hunting situations (though often in the latter, too) I've always been taught that if you have a rifle or shotgun on you, you should also have a handgun.

As Clint says, "A handgun is what you use to fight your way back to your rifle, which you should never have set down in the first place." That's kind of how I view a BUG: a tool I can deploy if I can't use the primary due to constraints during a hand-to-hand encounter (arm pinned; in a retention struggle; cover garment trapped, etc.), damage to my dominant hand and loss of gun because of it (and, also, if the EDC is still holstered, a whole lot of us don't have the lithe figure and flexibility that allow reaching that gun from the dominant-side hip, dominant-facing small-of-back carry, or shoulder holster...and if we have too many lbs we aren't carrying appendix in the first place ), or a nasty stoppage like a stubborn double-feed, stuck casing, or a mechanical failure (e.g., gun being hit by opposing fire and damaged).

I carry a knife, too, but can't use it like I could 30 years ago. If I'm in a clench with a BG and my EDC is trapped, if I can get to my BUG I'd rather put a few quick holes in the bad guy to get him off me than try to use the blade.

If the unavoidable, violent situation occurs outside the home and is not a sniper or active shooter or gang war incident, we're not going to be shooting at targets 25 yards away. The largest study we're able to draw on shows that, in an urban environment and where distances could be adequately estimated, 88% of all shootings are at 21 feet or less, and 69% are at 6 feet or less. Makes sense: the pair of violent criminal actors looking to rob or rape an honest citizen aren't going to do so from 25 yards, the equivalent of 9 parking spaces away; they're going to do it up close and personal. Also--though many will claim they would never let a BG approach that closely--we can't be profiling every human being in the Sam's Club parking lot, diving over cars, and doing tactical shoulder rolls to keep 10 yards away from all of them. Likewise, we can't be drawing down on every stranger who looks like he's approaching us.

The reality is that, if we want to be prepared at all, we'd better be prepared to deal with violent conflict within a radius of 10 feet. For me, the BUG is about having an extra option at bad-breath distances, not about round count or EDC failure.

Wow. Thanks to maverick2076, we got back on topic!

[bblhd672]

we can't be profiling every human being in the Sam's Club parking lot,

I don't know about the Sam's Clubs in your area, but the ones I go to it's easy to profile every human being in the parking lot...threats!

[MrMcCullster]

That's kind of how I view a BUG: a tool I can deploy if I can't use the primary due to constraints during a hand-to-hand encounter (arm pinned; in a retention struggle; cover garment trapped, etc.), damage to my dominant hand and loss of gun because of it (and, also, if the EDC is still holstered, a whole lot of us don't have the lithe figure and flexibility that allow reaching that gun from the dominant-side hip, dominant-facing small-of-back carry, or shoulder holster...and if we have too many lbs we aren't carrying appendix in the first place ), or a nasty stoppage like a stubborn double-feed, stuck casing, or a mechanical failure (e.g., gun being hit by opposing fire and damaged).

That's kinda why I chose the back up gun that I did (which honestly is my primary carry gun on certain quick-trip occasions). A small .38 special +P revolver.

I could have saved further and bought another new semi-auto striker fired pistol with 13+ rounds, but I wanted to be able to carry more NOW and be able to shoot the darn thing when another pistol might have failed me by jamming, getting caught in clothing in a tussle or is out of battery and can't cycle. The revolver could be fired multiple times through clothing, holsters, or jackets in close proximity without fear of those other issues.

But to each is own. A lot of people look at wearing extra mags and back up guns as "too much". That's why I come to this board. It's therapy and I'm with like minded folks.